"Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs" runs from October 16, 2011 to April 15,2012 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibit is located on the second floor of the Caroline Wiess Law building; before visitors are allowed to enter the exhibit, they are held in a darkly-lit Introductory theater with two wooden doors below three television screens that give an introduction to what visitors will see in the exhibit. After the short film visitors are let into the exhibit by automatically opening doors where visitors enter the first of six sections of the exhibit. The sections are divided into: the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh's Family and Private Life, the Pharaoh's Court, the Pharaoh's Religion, the Pharaoh's Gold, and the Discovery of a Pharaoh. The final section is divided into subsections of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Visitors enter the Discovery of a Pharaoh section by walking through a white tent with crate boxes and woven baskets on either side to give the feeling of entering the architect Howard Carter's and financier Lord Carnaron's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb on November 26, 1922. They entered the tomb through two sealed doors and the visitor to this section must also walk through two rooms before entering the subsections of the Discovery of a Pharaoh section. These subsections are presented to the visitor by walking through stone entrances labeled the Antechamber, the Annex of King Tut, the Treasury of Tutankhamun, and the Burial Chamber; all rooms of Tutankhamun's tomb. After Tutankhamun's tomb there are another two subsections visitors see by walking through short hallways to the Pharaoh's Fate and the display of the Ancient Mysteries &Modern Science with a replica of Tutankhamun's mummy.
"Canopic Coffinette", located in the Treasury section, was in the back part of the center of the room showing it's importance in the Egyptian culture's death ritual. It is one of four mini-coffins that held the internal organs of Tutankhamun. This particular coffinette held his stomach. The coffinette is inscribed with the names of Duamutef (one of the four sons of Horus) and the Goddess Neith (who also appeared on the underside of the lid) on the front of the coffinette to protect the contents and is inscribed on the inside with a spell from "The Book of the Dead". The front of the coffinette shows Tutankhamun wearing the Nemes headdress with a vulture (the goddess Neknbet symbolizing Upper Egypt) and a cobra (the goddess Uatchet symbolizing Lower Egypt) on the front, a false beard, and a collar. The front and back upper portions of the coffinette are in a pattern of wings crossing each other with the front winged pattern shown in the arms holding the crook (symbolizing government) and flail (symbol of royal power). Just under and around the winged parts are tiny round feather patterns in the first banded area on the coffinette. On either side of the coffinette (on the upper part) there are vultures holding Shen rings (representing eternity) in their claws. The remaining four banded areas are in the shape of bird feathers. It is made of gold and entirely inlaid with semi-precious stones and glass on the outside.
The event was very well organized into sections that gave the viewer a look into ancient Egyptian culture. The exhibit had plaques throughout describing what the items were, but some had very little explanation for the viewer that did not purchase the audio tour. It is a shame that more information couldn't have been put on display for those people who were unable or unwilling to spend the money on the audio tour. The security teams throughout the exhibit were excessive and some would circle visitors looking at the items making them uncomfortable and making them feel forced to move along. They were especially hard on the parents of very young children following them closely and telling them to make sure the children didn't touch the glass. Parents should not need to feel stalked or unwelcome. This gives the impression that the museum doesn't really welcome young children. The event was well organized and beautifully laid out; with some minor informative and security sensitivity improvements, it would be perfect.
"Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs" is divided into six sections with the Tutankhamun sections comprising about half of the exhibit with its six subsections. Tutankhamun's coffinette with its intricate inlaid details showed the beauty and mastery of the Egyptian artist's work and showed the importance of the coffinette in the burial rituals of the ancient Egyptian culture. With only a few minor glitches, the exhibit can be considered a huge success for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Video: (unfortunately a lot of items in this video were not at the MFAH; but it's a nice look at items from the entire exhibit, if you can't go to one of the museum tour dates)
Official Website:
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH):
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